Overhead door wheel mount



Oct. 27, 1953 J McKEE 2,656,561

OVERHEAD DOOR WHEEL MOUNT Filed Jan. 12, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet .l

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OVERHEAD DOOR WHEEL MOUNT Filed Jan. 12, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 27,1953 J. H. MCKEE 2,556,561

OVERHEAD DOOR WHEEL MOUNT Filed Jan. 12, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 fiY- J(mum "mum? In IQ hp 9 9 o o (Zlorggeg/S Oct. 27, 1953 Filed Jan. 12,1949 J. H. 'MGKEE 2,656,561

OVERHEAD DOOR WHEEL MOUNT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 T (W H A i U l 34 jl/w2411471 Patented Oct. 27, 1953 OVERHEAD DOOR WHEEL MOUNT James H. McKee,Aurora, IlL, assignor to McKee Door Company, Aurora, 111., a corporationof Illinois Application January 12, 1949, Serial No. 510,512

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates to overhead door constructions of the kind commonlyused in garages and similar buildings.

The type of overhead door to which my invention relates is commonly madein a plurality of sections which are located one above the other whenthe door is in closed position and which are connected by hinges orother suitable means to permit relative pivotal movement between suchsections. Tracks are provided on opposite sides of the door opening,such tracks having vertical or substantially vertical portions forholding the door in closed position, and horizon tal or substantiallyhorizontal portions extending rearwardly from the door opening forholding the door in open position. These portions of the track areconnected by curved portions and the door sections are commonly providedwith rollers adjacent their upper and lower edges which are guided bythe tracks to guide the door sections during the opening and closingmovements of the door, and to hold the door in rest position when eitheropened or closed.

An important feature of such an overhead type of door is the provisionof counterbalancing means for minimizing the effort required to move thedoor from closed to open position and vice versa. Such counterbalancingmeans usually takes the form of springs of various types orcounterweights arranged on the principle that the weight of the doorwill increase at a substantially even rate as the door is moved fromopened to closed position, and will decrease at a. substantially evenrate as the door is moved from. closed to open position. This principleonly holds true or approximately true where the door sections are ofreadily low and uniform height and because of this, it is customary tomake such door panels approximately two feet in height.

This limitation that the door panels be of relatively low height and allof the same height is disadvantageous in several respects. In the firstplace it is more expensive to manufacture a greater number of low panelsthan it would be manufacture a lesser number of higher panels. It isalso more expensive to provide a greater amount of door hardwareconsisting principally of hinges and rollers required by the largernumber of sections. Furthermore, these limitations to low and uniformsections might materially limit the scope of design variations which maybe adopted for the purpose of blending the door more harmoniously withthe rest of the building.

Another difliculty with present types of overhead door construction liesin the fact that where the sections vary greatly in weight, as, :forexample, where One section is made completely of wood panels whereasanother section is made largely of glass, the counterbalancing isunsatisfactory because the weight on the counterbalancing means is notevenly applied as the door is moved toward closed position or evenlyrelieved as the door is moved toward open posiion.

An object of my invention is to provide a new and improved overhead typeof door construction which avoids these disadvantages of the prior art.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved overheadtype of door con struction wherein proper counterbalancing can beobtained with sections of different heights 01 different weights.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved type ofoverhead door construction which is less expensive to manufacture thanthe prior art door constructions.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved overheadtype of door construction which permits the utilization of a minimumnumber of door sections for a given height of door.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved overheadtype of door construction which requires a minimum amount of hardwarefor a given size of door.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved overheadtype of door construction which permits the use of door sections ofdifierent heights and still provides adequate counterbalancing so thatthe door can be readily opened by women and children.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved overheadtype of door construction which permits much greater variations indesign and appearance and which makes it possible to match the doorswith design variations in individual buildings.

Another object of my invention is to provide an overhead type of doorconstruction having a new and improved load distributing beam.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of an overhead type of door construction inwhich the door consists of two sections;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing 3 my invention applied toa door having three sections;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of an adjustable type of loaddistributing beam;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the load distributing beam of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an adjustable load distributing beamlike that shown in Figs. 3 and 4 but illustrating the adjustable ends ofthe beam as being unevenly extended;

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 but showing a fixed type of loaddistributing beam with a centrally located trunnion;

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of a fixed type of load distributing beamin which the trunnion is closer to one end; and

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view showing in full lines a two-sectiondoor in midposition. The door has glass panels and utilizes fixed beamslike the beam of Fig. 6. The closed position of the door is indicated bydot and dash lines.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, it will be seen that I have thereinillustrated a building 10 having a door opening I2 provided with anoverhead type of door l4 guided by tracks 16 located on opposite sidesof the door opening. These tracks have horizontal portions 18, curvedportions 20, and vertical portions 22 which are preferably taperedslightly with respect to the door jambs so that the upper ends of thevertical portions are farther back of the door jambs than are the lowerends of the tracks. Such tapered arrangement of the vertical portions ofthe tracks is commonly employed in order to facilitate shutting andsealing of the door but forms no part of my invention and the verticalportions of the track may be made truly vertical if desired.

The door l4, illustrated in Fig. 1, consists of only two sectionsdesignated by reference numerals 24 and 26, respectively. Each of thesesections is relatively high as compared with the sections ordinarilyused in doors of this type and the upper section 26 is illustrated ashaving glass windows 28, whereas the lower section is formed entirely ofsolid panels of plywood or similar material.

The sections 24 and 26 are pivotally connected by hinges 30 and it (willbe readily apparent that the use of only two sections requires only asingle set of hinges in lieu of the multiple sets required Where threeor more sections are necessary to make up the complete door. The centerhinge may be an ordinary hinge whereas each hinge adjacent a door edgeis customarily designedto carry a track-engaging roller.

A metal plate 32 is attached to the inside lower corners of the lowersection and carries the usual roller located in and guided by one of thetracks 16. A different plate 34 is attached to the inside of each uppercorner of the upper section 26 and likewise carries a roller which islocated in and guided by one of the tracks l6. It will be noted that therollers carried by the plates 34 are located a greater distance to therear of the door than are the rollers carried by the plates 32.

In one conventional practice a third roller is attached to each side ofthe door adjacent the pivotal connection between the sections 24 and 26.In some constructions the hinge pins of the hinges 30 adjacent the dooredges would extend laterally from the edges of the door and formtrunnions for such rollers. In other instances such rollers are mountedadjacent to but slightly spaced from the hinge pins of the edge hinges30. In my new and improved construction, however, the hingedly connectededges of sections 24 and 26 are pivotally mounted on load distributingbeams, indicated generally by reference character 36 which in turn haverollers at their opposite ends located in and guided by the track It.

One form of load distributing beam which may be used for this purpose isillustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. This beam comprises a main or centralsection 38 having a trunnion 40 which is pivotally connected to thehinged edges of the door sections 24 and 2B. This pivotal connection maybe effected by utilizing the trunnion 40 as the hinge pin for theadjacent hinge 36, or by positioning this trunnion in a sleeve, or othersuitable receiving member carried by one of the sections of a hinge 30,or independently mounted on one of the door sections adjacent its hingededge. In the particular form of beam shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thetrunnion 49 is located equidistant between the ends of the centralsection 3%.

Attached to each end of the central section 38 is an end section 4|carrying a roller 42 adapted to be located in and guided by one of thetracks It. The end sections 4| are attached to the central section 38 bymeans of nuts and bolts 44 and the central section 38 is provided with aplurality of openings 46 for receiving these bolts so that the endsections 4! may be adjusted through a wide range to vary the effectivelength of the beam. The end sections 4| may be adjusted so that thetrunnion 40 is equidistant be tween the rollers 42 or so that thistrunnion is closer to one roller than the other. The latter adjustmentis shown in Fig. 5 wherein the trunion is closer to the right handroller 42 than it is to the left hand roller.

Where one of the end sections is adjusted so that the stud 48 on whichthe roller 42 is mounted overlaps the central section 38, means must beprovided to accommodate the projecting portion of this stud. In Figs. 3,4 and 5 this means constitutes a second series of holes 50 formed in thecentral section 38 for receiving the projecting portion of the stud 48when either or both end sections M are adjusted so that they are locatedclosely adjacent the trunnion 40.

Referring back to Fig. 1, it will be apparent that the load distributingbeams shown in this figure are of the adjustable type illustrated inmore detail in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. In Fig. 1 the end sections of the beamare equally spaced with respect to the trunnion 40, but if the glass 28in the upper door section 26 substantially increases the weight of thissection as compared to the lower door section 24, it would be preferableto adjust the upper end section 41 so that its roller is closer to thetrunnion 40 than is the roller carried by the lower end section. Inother Words it would be desirable to use a beam adjustment like thatshown in Fig. 5 with the righthand end of the beam of Fig. 5 beinguppermost when the door is in closed position.

In the embodiment of Fig. l, the door i4 is counterbalanced by a singlespring 52 connected by ropes or other suitable means 54 to the plates 32attached to the lower corners of the door. The rope which is attached tothe right-hand plate 32 passes over a pulley 55 carried by a support 53attached to the door jamb. This particular arrangement forcounterbalancing the door forms the subject matter of my copendingapplication Serial No. 70,543, filed January 12,

' 1949, now Patent No. 2,607,410; dated August 19,

1952. It will be understood that any other suitable counterbalancingmeans may be utilized, such as the conventional arrangement in which aseparate spring or weight is attached to each edge of the door.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated my invention as being applied to a threesection door l4 comprising the sections 60, 62 and 64. In this form ofmy invention my novel load distributing means 66 are utilized to supportand guide the hingedly connected edges of door sections 60 and 62,whereas the hingedly connected edges of door sections 62 and 64 aresupported and guided by conventional roller supports 68. The lower edgeof door section 60 may be provided with the usual plate and rollersupports 32 and the upper edge of the upper door section 64 may likewisebe provided with the usual roller supports 34.

The construction and arrangement shown in Fig. 2 is desirable where oneor both of the two lower door sections are wider or heavier than theupper door section 64. In this figure I have illustrated the door asbeing provided with a fixed type of load distributing beam similar tothe beams shown in more detail in Figs. 6 and 7 although it is to beunderstood that an adjustable beam of the kind shown in Figs. 3, 4 andcan be used in lieu of the fixed beam of Fig. 2.

In Fig. 6 the fixed beam 10 is provided with a trunnion 12 equidistantbetween the track rollers 14. In Fig. 7 the fixed beam Ill has atrunnion 12' located closer to one track roller 14' than it is to theother track roller. This fixed beam has the advantage of being cheaperand thinner than the adjustable beam but makes the stocking of a largevariety of such beams necessary if the same flexibility is to be hadwith respect to the total length of the beam and the location of thetrunnion at various positions lengthwise of the beam.

I have found that my novel construction permits an overhead door to bemade of fewer sections while still retaining accurate counterbalancingby conventional means so that an ordinary garage door can be easilyopened and closed by women and children. My new and improvedconstruction also permits the architect or builder to vary the width ofthe sections in wide limits for the purpose of providing a moreattractive door in and of itself, or for the purpose of harmonizing thedoor with the lines and construction of the building with which it isused. My novel construction also makes possible the use of door sectionsof substantially different weights without impairing thecounterbalancing of the door or the ease with which it may be opened andclosed.

It will be noted that the construction of my new and improved overheaddoor is simple and that my novel beam construction requires no changesin the design or construction of the individual door sections. Theseload carrying beams can be made of minimum thickness consistent with theload imposed upon them, and in many instances can be applied to existingdoor constructions without even trimming away the edge of the doorsections to provide increased clearance between the sides of the doorand the tracks by which it is supported and guided.

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to theparticular embodiments shown but may assume a wide variety of forms andincludes all modifications, variations and equivalents within the scopeof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A beam for an overhead type of door construction wherein amultisection door including sections of unequal weight is supported andguided by tracks located on opposite sides thereof so that the door canbe moved from a vertical closed position to a horizontal open positionand vice versa, a trunnion carried by the beam and adapted to bepivotally connected to a door section, and a track engaging rollercarried on each end of the beam to distribute a load on said beambetween points lengthwise of the track to increase the ease of operationin opening or closing the door, said trunnion being located intermediatesaid rollers and substantially closer to one of said rollers than theother to compensate for the unequal weight of said sections.

2. A beam for an overhead type of door construction wherein amultisection door is support ed and guided by tracks located on oppositesides thereof so that the door can be moved from a vertical closedposition to a horizontal open position and vice versa, a trunnioncarried by the beam and adapted to be pivotally connected to a doorsection, and a track engaging roller carried on each end of the beam todistribute a load on said beam between points lengthwise of the track toincrease the ease of operation in opening or closing the door, saidtrunnion being disposed intermediate said rollers, and means foradjustably attaching one of said rollers to said beam to compensate fordifferences in weight between adjacent sections by varying substantiallythe distance between said one of said rollers and said trunnion.

JAMES H. McKEE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,724,995 Dautrick Aug. 20, 1929 1,983,856 Johnson Dec. 11.934 2,099,191 Blodgett Nov. 16, 1937 2,171,194 Smith Aug. 29, 19392,204,852 Ferris June 18, 1940

